Elevator for pinsetting machine



June 27, 1961 E. c. SMILEY ET AL 2,990,176

ELEVATOR FOR PINSETTING MACHINE Filed Feb. 3, 1959 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTORS EDWIN C. SMILEY WARREN S. SNOW ATTORNEY J1me 71951 E. c. SMILEY ET AL 2,990,176

ELEVATOR FOR PINSETTING MACHINE Filed Feb. 3, 1959 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 FIG. 7 FIG. 8

INVENTORS EDWIN C. SMILEY WARREN S. SNOW 43am. W

ATTOR N E Y Filed Feb. 3, 1959, Ser. No. 790,827 9 Claims. (Cl. 273-43) This invention relates to improvements in bowling pinsetting machines and more particularly to the part of such machines as eifect separation of the balls and the bowling P1118.

In bowling pin machines it is customary to raise the pins and the balls from the pit to a suficient elevation to permit return of the ball by gravity to the front end of the alley and also raise the pins to an assembling structure from which they can be lowered to the alley. Somewhere between the pit and the upper part of the machine it is necessary to separate the balls from the pins and this is usually done by some mechanism which depends primarily on the difference in diameters of the ball and the widest part of the pin. Thus, in so-called hard duck pins it is customary to use a single elevator mechanism which lifts both balls and pins but depends upon the larger diameter of the ball to effect its discharge from the elevator at a separating station toward a return runway, the pins remaining on the conveyor and continuing with it to a position above the runway. Such mechanisms, however, are not satisfactory for so-called rubber duck pins in which the pins are surrounded by a rubber band which has a diameter almost equal to that of the ball.

The American Rubberband Duck Pin Bowling Congress specifies that the ball must not have a diameter in excess of 5.003'-' and the rubberband around the pin must have an outside diameter of 4 The width of the band is 134 and the top of the band is 3%" above the bottom of the pin when the latter is standing erect; Under such conditions it is not possible to use the ordinary separating mechanism due primarily to the fact that the rubber band and the ball have substantially the same diameters. The aforenamed Congress permits the use of balls any size under 5.003 so that in actual practice a ball 4 /2", which is preferred by women bowlers, may have a diameter less than the maximum diameter of the rubber duck pin.

It is an important object of the present invention to provide an elevator mechanism leading upwardly from the pit having lifting conveying chains provided with cross bars which lift balls and rubber duck pins, one at a time, to a separating zone or station where the ball is pushed out of the elevator by mechanism so controlled that after removing the ball it promptly returns to its normal position out of the zone and where it will be out of the path of the rubber band if a pin were present.

It is a further object of the invention to provide separating means including a lever having an end which is limitedly projected into the separating zone or station only far enough to exert a force on the ball because of its size but not far enough to engage the wood part or body of the pin because the largest diameter thereof is substantially less than that of the ball. Control mechanism for the lever then promptly moves it to a position where it cannot interfere with the rubber band which will be resting on the parallel lifter bars.

The lifter bars are more or less parallel to the direction of discharge of the ball and therefore of movement of the separating member into the aforesaid station and in order to take full advantage of the movement of the lever when discharging a ball it is located at a point substantially halfway between the bars. In this position the t s ti n lever overhangs a part of the rubber band which has no support directly under the lever, and if the latter should remain in the path of the rising rubber band it will tip the pin and cause faulty operation. The mechanism to be set forth in detail hereinafter is so designed that it can move a ball out of the separating zone or station and then moves out of the path of an unsupported part of a band before the latter rises to a point where it would otherwise engage the lever.

The previously mentioned cross bars are arranged in pairs and are equally spaced along their conveyor chains; It is a further object of the present invention to control operation of the separating lever by a force derived from the pair of lifting bars next below the pair which places a ball or pin at the zone or station. In this way a sufiiciently long lever can be used to permit the requisite multiplication of motion required for proper operation.

It is a further object of the invention to project the separating member into the zone at a high enough elevation to strike the ball above its center, thereby causing a rolling of the ball favorable to moving it along the bars to the runway.

It is a still further object of the invention to continue motion of the separator into the zone or station after engagement with the ball as the latter continues to move upwardly so that removal of the ball is due to the combined effect of the inward motion of the separating member coupled with the rounding of the ball toward the member as the latter rises. Both of these effects are derived from. motion of the elevator bars.

In order that theinvention may be clearly understood reference is made to the accompanying drawings which illustrate by way of example the embodiments of the invention and in which;

FIG. 1 is a rearelevation of the elevator mechanism forming the subject matter of the present invention, parts being broken away,

FIG. 2 is a vertical section on line 22, FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is an enlargement of parts shown in FIG. 2 showing the separating member in its operating position,

FIG. 4 is a plan view looking in the direction of arrow 4, FIG. 3,

FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing parts of the lever mechanism which constitute the separating member,-

FIG. 6 is a detail vertical section on line 6-6, FIG. 1, showing one of the mountings of the lever shown in FIG. 5, and

FIGS. 7, 8 and 9 are diagrammatic views showing the separating member in three different positions with respect to the elevator mechanism.

The drawings show only that part of the pinsettin'g machine forming part of the present invention, but it is to be understood that the alley, pit, bumper and conveyor means below the structure shown in FIG. 1 will deliver both pins and balls to the elevator mechanism, and further that above the structure shown in FIG. 1 there will be mechanisms for diverting the pins from the conveyor to some form of magazine or other storing means from which the pins are delivered to a distributor or the like which eventually will be lowered to set the pins in proper order on the alley.

Referring more particularly to FIGS. 1 and 2, one of the end posts of the machine is shown at 1 having attached to it a cross bar 2. Uprights 3 and 4 which are held in fixed position in any approved manner are rigid and comparatively thin as shown for instance in FIG. 4. The uprights shown in FIG. 1 are duplicated by similar uprights in front of them as indicated for instance in FIGS. 2 and 4.

The elevator operates with four end-less chains which are arranged in two pairs, one pair being at the right, FIG. 1, indicated at 10 and 11, and the other pair being at the left and indicated at 12 and 13. Each pair 10- 11, 12-13 of conveyor chains is connected by cross support s 3 bars, the pairs 19-11 being connected by upper and lower bars 15a and 15b, and chains 1213being similarly connected by bars 15c and 15d. The bars are substantially parallel to each other and extend back and forth in the machine and so arranged as to be at substantially the same level in pairs, as 15a and 15c, the upper pair, FIG. 1, and 15b and 15d, the lower pair. The bars are also equally spaced along their respective conveyor chains and arrive at the separating zone at a uniform rate depending upon the speed at which the chains are moved. The mechanism for moving the chains is not shown herein but it is to be understood that they have the same rate of motion and are driven in such direction. that their adjacent runs move upwardly, that is, the left-hand parts of the chains -11 and the right-hand parts of chains 1213 move upwardly so that the support bars when in position to cooperate with pins or balls will be as shown in FIG. 1. Sprockets or the like (not shown) are provided for the upper ends of the chains, the outer parts of the latter moving downwardly so that the bars will be inverted as they move down toward the bottom of the elevator for guidance around other sprockets (not shown) leading them to their upright runs.

The support bars 15a15d preferably have slight concavities 16 on their upper surfaces when moving upwardly to center the balls, and the bars also have guide slots 17 which fit the uprights 3 and 4. The uprights guide the bars so that the latter move in substantially straight lines when moving upwardly, and the chains are held taut by their sprockets.

The separating member comprises essentially a twoarmed lever 20 which is pivoted on trunnions 21 and 22 held in fixed position by vertical adjustable holders 23 and 24. These holders are formed with vertical slots 25 to receive screws or the like 26 tapped into the rear uprights 3 and 4 by which the holders and the trunnions can be adjusted vertically. FIG. 6 shows a detail of one of the trunnions and its pivotal connection with the lever, the trunnion having a conical end 27 to fit into a similar socket 28 in the lever. The holders 23 and 24 are located as closely as can conveniently be arranged to the chains, as suggested in FIG. 2. The lever 20 is therefore mounted for rocking movement back and forth around a horizontal axis and within limits this axis can be adjusted vertically.

The lower end of lever 20 has rotatably mounted thereon two contacts or rolls 30 and 31 shown at the right and left respectively in FIG. 1. These rolls are positioned to be in the paths of the ends of their corresponding bars 15a-15d, and other similar bars, and they are located below the axis of-lever 20. The support bars as suggested in FIG. 2 may have their upper and lower ends rounded to establish smooth engagement with the rolls.

The upper end of lever 20 has secured thereto a ball pusher member 35 shaped as shown for instance in FIGS. 2, 3 and 5. The member 35 is fastened at 36 to the upper end of lever 20 and has a vertical part 37 leading to a curve 38 and then to a more or less horizontal part 39 to the left end of which, as shown in the drawing, is curved upwardly as at 40.

In order to limit back and forth motion of the lever an adjustable stop shown generally at 45 is provided as shown more particularly in FIGS. 2 and 5. This stop includes a screw 46 the rear end of which is adjustably held by nuts 47 to the previously mentioned cross bar 2, and its for-ward end is held by not 48 to a rigid metallic plate 4-9 supported in any approved manner. The

lever 20 has an opening 50 to receive the screw 46 and shock absorbing bumpers, such as leather washers 51, are positioned on the screew 46 for engagement with the lever 20. By adjusting nuts 52 on screw 46 for the righthand washer 51, FIG. 2, the normal angular position of the lever 20 can be adjusted, this position determining the extent of motion of the rolls 30 and 31 by the sigpport bars as will be described in more detail hereina ter.

Extending between and secured to the rear supports 3 and 4 is a cross bar 55 to which is secured a leaf spring 56 as by 'ascrew 57. The upper end of this leaf spring bears against the lower part of lever 20 between the rolls 30 and 31. The purpose of this spring is to exert a yielding force on lever 20 tending to hold it in its normal inoperative position shown in FIG. 2.

Forward of the chains is a ball runway designated generally at 60, see FIG. 4, leading to a return chute by which the ball can roll under gravity to the forward end of the alleys The chains run angularly at uniform speeds to lift balls and pins, one at a time, to a separating zone in proximity to the runway 60 and the upper end of the pusher 35. The pair of bars 15b and 15d next below the bars adjacent to the separating zone, that is, the lower bars shown in .FIG. 11, as they move upwardly will engage the rolls 30 and 31, see FIG. 7, to rock the lever to the left from the position shown in FIG. 2 whenever the upper cross bars present either a ball or a pin at the zone. The bowling pins have a wood body 65 surrounded by a rubber band 66 which, as already stated, ha a diameter substantially equal to that of the ball B shown in doted line in FIG. 3. The rubber band rests on pairs of cross support bars, as 15a and 150, for only a small part of their circumference, the parts of the band out of contact with the bars extending between the latter and being without direct support beneath the pusher 35. The pins will ordinarily be presented with their handle ends down as shown for instance in FIG. 3, but it may accasionally happen that a pin will be inverted from that position and rise with its handle end up. The body of the pin and the parts thereof adjacent to the rubber band are substantially of the same shape that it will not make much difference in the operation of the machine whether the pins are presented as shown in 'FIG. 3 or whether they are inverted. The bars of a pair are diametrically opposite each other on opposite sides of a pin, see FIG. 4, to firmly support the pin and maintain stability thereof during movement of the elevator chains.

In operation, the chains will lift the balls or pins, one at a time, to a separating zone and the separating member will normally be held in its idle position shown in FIG. 2 by the spring 56. As a pin or ball approaches the separating zone the pair of support bars next below the bars adjacent to the zone will engage the rolls 30 and 31 to rock the lever 20 around its axis in a counterclockwise direction from the position shown in FIG. 2 to that shown in FIG. 3. At the beginning of this rock ing motion the rolls and the lower pair of bars 15b and 15d will be in the position shown in FIG. 7, that is, with the lower bars just establishing contact with the rolls 30 and 31. As the conveyor chains continue to rise the lower bars will push the rolls 30 and 31 to the right, FIG. 8, thereby moving the upper end of the separating member into the separating zone as the ball or pin is lifted. The elevation of the rounded part 40 of the pusher 37 is so placed that it will engage a ball above its center and cause it to roll in a counterclockwise direction viewed in FIG. 3 toward runway 60. The extent of motion of the pusher into the separating zone is sufficient to engage the ball to impart motion to it to the left, FIG. 4, but is not sufficient to cause any more than slight contact, if any, with the wood body of the pin.

As the chains continue to rise the lower support bars 15b and 15d will rise above the rolls 30 and 31, FIG. 9, and the spring 56 will return the lever to its normal position by a reverse motion sufficient to avoid contact with the unsupported part of the rubber band before the latter, if present, could engage the pusher. A slight contact between thepusher and the wood body of the pin, or with assume the band, may not be objectionable, but fonproperfloperation contact of the pusher with the pin or the' rubber band, should it occur, should not disturb the pin materially in its setting on the cross support bars. The pusher therefore is eifective to act only on a ball to move it off the elevator and ineffective to act on a pin to remove same.

Although in the foregoing description only two pairs of bars 1511-150 and 15b--15d have been described in detail, it is to be understood that the bars of both chains will rise in similar parallel pairs to present either a ball or a pin to the separating zone where a ball can be removed. The separating zone mentioned hereinbefore refers to the region along the elevator at which the separation takes place, but the zone may be considered more specifically to be that part of the path of the pusher which lies within an imaginary cylinder extending vertically upwardly from and having adiameter equal to either a ball or the rubber band on a pin, whichever has the larger diameter.

In an elevator which hasbeen made according to the present invention and has operated satisfactorily the arm of the lever above its axis is approximately four times the length of the arm below the axis so that a comparatively slight motion on the part of the rolls 30 and 31 by the support bars will produce ample motion at the separating zone to enable the pusher to remove a ball. The fact that rolls 30 and 31 are engaged by the lower pair of bars permits the use of a lever as shown, The pusher is at a sufiiciently high elevation so that it will always engage a ball at a point above the ball center. A condition favorable to removal of the ball grows out of the fact that while the pusher is moving into the zone the ball is being lifted by the chains and the rounded part of the ball which is curved toward the pusher efiects a camming action which combined with the in motion of the pusher effects removal of the ball. It will be noted that both the in motion of the pusher and also such camming action as results in the rounded part of the ball are incident to movement of the conveyor chains.

Those parts of the body of the pin which are above the rubber band on the pin are of markedly less diameter than the band and also much less diameter than'that of the ball. The pusher can therefore move against the ball to move it off its bars without necessarily engaging the wood body of the pin which is above the rubber band.

In this connection it may be assumed that the pin body occupies a small space while the rubber band and the ball occupy larger spaces, these spaces being swept out as the balls and the pins rise, and that the pusher enters the ball space but not the pin body space and then moves out of the rubber band space before the band can reach the pusher.

During operation of the machine the chains will be driven continuously so that the pairs of bars Will be presented at regularly occurring intervals at the separating zone even though there may be neither a ball nor a pin on certain of the pairs of bars as they reach the zone. Since a ball or pin could conceivably be present at the zone at any of these intervals the pusher or separating member is given a motion for each interval, Also, for any given instant of operation a ball will extend above a band if the latter were present at the same instant, the ball always being ahead of a rubber band with respect to time of arrival in an interval at the zone. Also, when the pusher is in the operating zone it overhangs a part of the rubber band, if a pin is present, which is out of alignment with the support bars and therefore not directly supported by them, so that a downward force on this part of the band, such as might otherwise result if the pusher remained in the path of the band, would tip the pin. By effect-ing removal of the pusher as already described hereinbefore there is no chance that it can exert a downward force on the band and the pin is able to pass upwardly above the discharge point ofxthe ball properly seated on a pair of bars. .Y

Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, what is claimed is:

1. In a bowling pinsetting machine operating with bowling balls and with pins each having an encircling rubber band, an elevator having substantially horizontal lifting bars which pass upwardly through a separation zone in'pairs and lift balls and pins, one at a time, to said zone, the pins immediately above the rubber bands having a diameter markedly less than the diameter of either the balls or the rubber hands, a separating member at the zone, and means operated and controlled incident to movement of the elevator to move the member toward a ball or pin at the zone with sufiioient extent of motion to move a ball on a pair of bars at the zone off the bars but with insufficient extent of motion to engage the part of the pin of smaller diameter at the zone, said means thereafter causing reverse motion of the member away from a pin at the zone to avoid contact of the member with the band on the pin as the elevator lifts the band into the zone.

2. In a bowling pinsetting machine operating with bowling balls and with pins each having an encircling rubber band around the body thereof the outside diameter of which is substantially the same as that of a ball but considenably greater than the maximum diameter of the body of the pin, an elevator having substantially horizontal lifting bars which pass upwardly through a separation zone in pairs and lift balls and pins, one ata time, into said station, the body and rubber band of a pin when at the zone occupying spaces corresponding to their diameters, and a ball at the zone occupying a space corresponding to its diameter, the pin body space immediately above the rubber band space having a diameter markedly less than the diameter of either the ball space or the rubber band space, and a separating member having a motion toward a ball or pin at the zone of suflicient extent to enter the ball space but not the pin body space to move a ball at the zone on a pair of bars off the latter, the member thereafter having a reverse motion away from the pin body space of sufiicient extent to be out of the rubber band space as the pin is raised by the elevator.

3. In a bowling pinsetting machine operating with bowling balls and with pins each having an encircling rubber band around the body thereof the outside diameter of which is substantially the same as that of a ball but considerably greater than the maximum diameter of the body of the pin, an elevator passing upwardly through a separating zone capable at regularly recurring intervals of moving balls and pins, one at a time, to the zone, a separating member moving once for each of said intervals into the zone at a given elevation, the rubber band reaching said given elevation later during an interval than a ball reaches said elevation, and operating means for the member causing the latter to enter the zone at said intervals and elevation to engage a ball, if present, and remove it from the elevator before the band of a pin, if present, could reach said elevation and then effective to move the member out of the zone and the upward path of a band by the time the latter can reach said elevation.

4. In a bowling pinsetting machine operating with bowling balls and pins each having a body encircled by a rubber band the outside diameter of which is substantially the same as that of the balls, an elevator having pairs of susbtantially horizontal lifting bars, each pair capable of raising balls and pins, one at a time, during operation of the machine, a pin when being lifted by a pair of bars having its rubber band resting on the bars and having part of the body thereof above the band, a ball when resting on a pair of bars projecting above the position of a rubber band for any given elevation of the bars, said part of said body of the pin having a diameter markedly less than the diameter of a ball or rubber withwitshand band, a separating member-moving :in a given direc= tion toward the upper part of a ball and said part of said body at an elevation above a rubber band; if ;it were .present, and efiectiveto move a ball off the bars but ineffective to engage said part of a pin, if the latter were present, said member thereafter moving in the opposite direction to be out of position to engage the band by the time the latter reaches the level of said member.

5. The machine set forth in claim 4 wherein part of of band between said bars is out of vertical alignment with said bars so that a downward force exerted on said part of the band would tend to tip the pin, and the member whenmoving in said given direction overhangs said part of the band but when moving in said opposite direction moves out of overhanging position with respect to said part of the band.

6. In a bowling pinsetting machine operating with bowling balls and with pins each having an encircling rubber band around the body thereof, the outside diameter of the band being substantially the same as that of the balls and the largest diameter of the pins being substantially less than that of the ball, an elevator having pairs of substantially horizontal support bars for 'envgagemcnt with said balls and said rubber band on opposite sides of a pin and which pass upwardly through a separating zone in pairs to move said balls and said pins, one at a time into the zone, and a separating member normally stationarily positioned out of said zone but having a limited movement into the zone once only whenever a ball or a pin approaches the zone and citestive to act only on a ball in the zone because of the dimeter to! the ball toimove it horizontally off the elevator and infiective due toits limited movement to act on a pin body in the zone because of the diameter of the pin in said zone to move the latter ofi said elevator, and

means to move said member out of said zone incident to entrance of said band into said zone to prevent said member from engaging said band.

7. The machine set forth in claim 6 includes a twoarmed vertical lever wherein one of the arms wherein the separating member is given said limited movement force derived from movement of at least one of said bars against the other arm.

8. The machine set forth in claim 7 wherein said one of the arms is provided with a curved end for engagement with a ball and wherein said other arm is provided with a pair of contacts for engagement by a pair of said bars below said zone when said bars are moving upwardly to effect limited actuationof said curved and into said zone.

9. The machine set forth in claim 8 wherein said arms mount a pivot therebetween and said curved end is of sufficient distance from said pivot to be projected into the zone at an elevation sufiiciently high to engage a ball above its center when the ball is in said zone to cause the ball to roll along the bars supoprting it.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,586,831 Murphy June 1, 1926 1,736,011 Olson Nov. 19, 1929 2,341,476 Parra et a1 Feb. 8, 1944 

